Effects of Attitude Similarity, Attachment Style, & Self-Esteem on Interpersonal Attraction
Date
2016-08
Authors
Winfrey, Haleigh
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Abstract
Interpersonal Attraction is an important field of psychology concerning why humans are attracted to one another and the multiple factors as to how this attraction occurs. Major studies in the field have looked at dyadic relationships involving a complete range of interactions from first impressions of a stranger to those of long-term couples. These studies focus on reciprocal behavior contingencies and how these relationships grow and change over time. Research suggests there is a positive linear relationship between attitude similarity and attraction. This “reinforcement affect theory” view of attraction has been previously studied with interpersonal attraction, but has lately been challenged by theories that emphasize cognition rather than reinforcement. Focusing on constructs such as attachment style and self-esteem has allowed researchers to gain insight into the human psyche, which will assist in determining how interpersonal attraction occurs. Examining the conceptual processes concerning why people are attracted to individuals may help explain the complexities of attraction. The goals of the current study were to (1) replicate previous studies that show percent of attitude similarity influences interpersonal attraction, (2) to examine the relationship between attachment style and self-esteem, (3) their relationship to interpersonal attraction, and (4) to test for a cognitive interpretation of the attitude similarity – interpersonal attraction relationship. The results show that percent of attitude similarity influences interpersonal attraction and that self-esteem is related to attachment style. The results did not show that attachment style or self-esteem are related to interpersonal attraction. A cognitive interpretation of the attitude similarity – attraction relationship was not supported.
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Keywords
Interpersonal attraction
Citation
Winfrey, H. (2016). <i>Effects of attitude similarity, attachment style, and self-esteem on interpersonal attraction</i> (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.